Excerpts From Tony Stark's Attempts
by PoisonComeUndone
Summary: Movie!verse.  Tony finds out that Steve's always wanted to get a dog. If he could resist anything Steve wants, he might've been able to point out that they're messy and chew on everything in sight...instead, puppy it is.


This was way too tempting to resist, XD

For those of you interested, the puppy Tony brings Steve is a Catahoula Leopard Dog, a breed formed in Louisiana. And here's the one I had in mind as the puppy in this fic, ^^

http : / / www . greatdogsite . com / resources / photos / from_owners / Louisiana%20Catahoula%20Leopard%20Dog – watermarked - 1245360816 . jpg

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A few months ago if anyone had asked Tony Stark if he had any plans to add a dog to his life he'd have given them the look he reserved for only the epically stupid. Because seriously, did he look like a dog person? Dogs were for people desperate for affection they couldn't get from anyone else, people with time to actually take care of them and who didn't have million dollar equipment lying all over in every room in the house. He didn't hate them, didn't have anything against them at all, and in fact he had pretty fond memories of the collie pup one of his mother's friends had brought over to the house a few times, but to him they pretty much fell in the same category as all other animals: sometimes cute, occasionally entertaining, and much better viewed from afar.

But a few months ago, it had only been himself he was taking into account. Then, there hadn't been Steve. After contemplating his odds of fucking up both their friendship and the team itself for so long it was honestly embarrassing he'd finally gotten up the nerve, pushed all his doubts out of his head and pushed Steve up against a crumbling brick wall for a post-victory kiss. When it had worked he'd felt pretty damn proud of his skills, but in hindsight he was starting to question that a little, because ever since then it seemed a lot of things in his life he'd been certain of were systematically evaporating.

He never had serious relationships, but Steve wouldn't even start something that wasn't. He'd never had a problem tempting anyone into his bed, but with Steve he'd had to earn that right(and God was it worth it). He'd always done whatever he damn well pleased, but after waking up with cracked ribs in a hospital bed and seeing Steve at his bedside with bloodshot eyes he'd started to be just a little less reckless. Apparently 'stupidly in love' wasn't just a phrase, because he'd clearly lost it quite awhile back. Not to mention the fact that he completely didn't care. For some unfathomable reason, Steve put up with him, enough that he'd been living with him for the past four months and he hadn't run for the door yet. Seeing Steve happy, happy with him even…that was more than he could've ever dreamed to ask for.

So the week before when they'd been lying in bed talking and Steve had brought up the dog he'd had as a boy and how he'd planned to get one of his own as soon as he made it back from the war, the wistful tone in his voice was enough to have Tony internally swearing, already bemoaning the disaster his house was going to turn into. It was like a compulsion, either a sickness, a self worth defect or really good psychological training. Somehow, he couldn't help but try to provide whatever it was Steve wanted.

Already the puppy had put a hole in his shirt, left teeth marks on the leather of his belt, and tried heroically to get its little devil teeth into his cell phone. The thing was a furry menace.

"Alright, pup, this is how it's gonna be, ok? We're gonna go in the house and I'm gonna hand you to Steve, and you're gonna…imprint on him, I don't care, just give him all that little puppy charm, cause he's the one you need to suck up to. I'm not feeding you."

The puppy scrabbled at his chest, tongue licking the air, and Tony pushed him down, gentler than he would have if they hadn't been alone. If they had to have a furball running around the house, at least the little thing was cute, he had to admit. When he'd picked the little guy up from the breeder's place it hadn't been hard to choose him at all. He'd leaped right up against Tony's jeans, bright blue eyes all sparkling and happy and reminding him far too much of Steve for him to resist.

Keeping a hold on him on the drive back had been a bit ridiculous since he'd refused to stay in the box in the passenger seat, and Tony was ready to had him over and be done with wriggling puppy for awhile. While Steve was getting to know him, he could go rig up something to protect his lab, like electrical wire. Only less puppy frying.

"I'm telling you, you chew up one thing in there and you're out this door. One." He tucked the puppy under one arm as he climbed out of the car. Disproportionately large white feet swam against his side, his whip tail still wagging frantically. "Hey, I wouldn't be happy about that if I were you. I hear it's pretty tough being a street dog these days." Every time he spoke, that tail wagged just a little more. "I can tell you one thing, buddy, we've gotta work on your vocabulary. Can't have you embarrassing the family name." …not that the dog was supposed to be a Stark. Technically, he was just the delivery service.

Carrying a puppy made doing anything else twice as difficult. He was constantly squirming, occasionally biting, nearly always licking. By the time he'd made it upstairs Tony was thinking it was a miracle that puppies ever survived children. It'd been all he could do to keep him from doing a death leap out of his arms on the stairs.

Steve had his back to the doorway, settled into a comfortable chair they'd picked up just a few weeks ago, and though he knew Steve had to have heard him come in he didn't say anything at first, just reached over his shoulder to dump about 10 lbs of happy puppy into his lap.

Even when Steve jerked at the sudden addition, he caught the little guy pretty easily.  
>"Whoa, easy there!" Easier said than done. Those too big white feet were prancing all over his lap, heedless of the fact that he had all the balance of a brain damaged squirrel. Steve was grinning at him already, eyes tracking his helplessly excited dance. "Did you find him outside? Can't believe someone would let a puppy this young out on his own."<p>

"Found him on the internet, actually. Well, found the woman that...doesn't matter, do you like him? Cause when you talked about your dog you said he was something your dad had picked up down in Lousiana and this woman I called said that- What, what is it?" No matter how long he'd known him now, sometimes when Steve stared at him like that he just had no idea what was going through his head. Tony hated not knowing.

Steve scooped the puppy out of his lap with one big hand, held him close to his chest with far more ease than Tony had ever been able to manage. Maybe because he was just letting the puppy lick him, going after his neck like it couldn't believe it was allowed and ok maybe that was cute, but he was so taking a shower before Tony got his own tongue anywhere near that part of his skin again.

"You…brought me a puppy? He's actually ours?"

Well. Probably, on the shower thing. Steve could disarm him of just about everything, it seemed, and something in his voice drew him beyond all resistance, something that even now sounded a little shocked. Hadn't he gotten it, at this point? Fuck, the man could probably offhandedly mention a fantasy excursion to the moon and Tony'd go down to his workshop and start building a friggin' rocket.

"Ah, technically he's yours. Nothing dogs do meshes well with anything I do so the sooner you teach the little imp some manners the better because if he gets in my stuff I'm not responsible for what happens to him. Probably literally, because if he chomps down on anything that-"

Among the other things he was already too good at, Steve had perfected the art of shutting Tony up. In his head Tony clarified that it was only because he let him. That was different than Steve just being able to without his consent, wasn't it? Of course it was.

So, when Steve reached up to pull him into a kiss he just went with it, humming a low sound of appreciation into his mouth when Steve's tongue parted his lips. The first time they'd made out, he'd been eager to show Steve every element of a real kiss, how it was an art form all by itself. Lately, he was pretty sure he'd created a monster. An awesome,awesome monster.

The puppy yipped, Steve pulled away, and Tony swore. Weren't dogs supposed to get you laid, not the other way around?

"Hey, wise guy, keep it shut when your elders are talking." Or not talking, as the case may be.

Steve laughed, slid his hand down from the back of Tony's neck to ruffle the puppy's ears. "He's got a mouth on him, imagine that. So were you lookin' for family resemblance or is that just a bonus?"

"Hilarious. But you know you could have a point, the Avenger's don't have a mascot, we could-"

"We're not taking the dog on missions!" Another yip, and Steve's attention went to him completely, hands gathering him up to dangle the puppy in the air. "Don't listen to him, buddy, ok? I'll keep you safe; don't you worry."

And there it was right there, the reason Steve was perfect at this kind of thing. Sure, Tony had taken up his activities with the suit to do the right thing, but with Steve, protection was an imperative. Simple as breath.

Tony hadn't even realized his hand had come to rest on Steve's shoulder but he squeezed it lightly. "So, you like him, huh?"

"Tony, I love him. He's perfect. I know you said you didn't like dogs but-"

"Oh I like them in theory just fine, it's only the application that gets blurry but who knows, fuzzy blue eyes here might just be the exception." And even if he wasn't, Tony could be pretty good at adjusting when he wanted to be. Everything was possible, some things just took more effort.

He was about to leave, heading off for a shower and getting ready to say so when Steve caught his wrist, holding him there and looking back over his shoulder to meet his eyes. "Thank you."

In his head, already he could count this one as a win. Out of every present he'd ferreted up to give Steve, this was the only one that had produced that look. Car? Minimal excitement and a little confusion("But don't you already have enough for both of us?"). Puppy? That look, all gratitude and warmth and full of things that made his heart stutter in ways that only Steve could. Good to know.

"Anytime." Except, please God, let one dog be enough. Please, for the sake of his sanity and electronics.

When he reached the bathroom, he paused after pulling off his shirt.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes sir?"

"I need you to start working on some ideas, I need everything electronic in this house to be puppy repelling."

"Very well sir."

Tony sighed. "Be gentle with it, ok? He's little." He had to clarify. For Steve's sake, obviously.

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End file.
